


Ribbons and Lord Byron

by Rozmund



Category: Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery, Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: But Not Much, Canon compliant through S3 ep 9, F/M, Fluff, Slight Canon Divergence, anne and gilbert are an "everything but" couple, for fun, it's written like repressed victorians are trying to write smut, minor smut, slightly aged up characters, the smut is not really graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2021-02-01 06:22:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21416161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rozmund/pseuds/Rozmund
Summary: Two years ago, Gilbert decided not to propose to Winnie and proposed to Anne instead. Now, he finds himself with the opportunity to attend the Sorbonne anyway. Anne isn’t about to let an ocean stop their passion…In other words, how Anne and Gilbert become an “everything but” couple and find a way to discreetly sext over the Atlantic.
Relationships: Gilbert Blythe & Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Comments: 36
Kudos: 510





	1. Don Juan

Gilbert never regretted the day he turned down the Sorbonne for a moment. He hardly even thought of it now, as though it had happened to some other person, an idiot who had convinced himself for a moment that the thrill of professional success would somehow soothe the lifelong pain of being separated from the woman he loved. In the end, it hadn’t mattered. There was no way he would be able to do it and it turned out she had no desire to spend a lifetime apart either.

He knew Marilla hadn’t entirely approved of him proposing right away, but when the love of your life already knows that you had considered pledging your life to another, it seemed wise to make very clear that whatever claim the other had paled in comparison to Anne’s claim on his heart. And so for the next two years, as they studied together at Queen’s, Anne began studies at Redmond College on scholarship, and Gilbert worked furiously to save for medical school, they remained engaged and looking forward to the future. Anne had even begun to publish little stories and articles, adding to the small nest egg that would allow Gilbert to attend school more quickly. He hated making her wait so long for him, but he also knew that she had never entirely gotten over her fear that he was suffering a professional setback for her sake. No reassurance that the alternative would have left him absolutely broken could quite soothe her worries. And so, they worked and waited, knowing that someday their dreams would come true and they would be a married doctor and writer.

In the meantime, between watchful eyes at Green Gables and equally watchful eyes in Charlottetown (more watchful, actually, the lack of quiet woods and gardens was horrible), their opportunities for physical connection were limited. They kissed and touched and whispered in each other’s ears when they could, but the moments were usually stolen and served only to leave the lovers flushed and wanting more.

Gilbert thought it was a strange thing, having a fiancée. The stern expectations of Avonlea society assumed that he would somehow keep himself from expressing his love for Anne with anything more than the occasional chaste touch and kiss, and yet somehow society also knew that someday, overnight, those strictures would be erased. Then he could stay locked away with her for a month and no one would bat an eye. The problem was, the desire to spend countless hours in her embrace seemed only to grow as the time passed, and they were no where near that magical wedding day that apparently would flip his fantasies from shocking to perfectly acceptable.

It didn’t help matters that Anne had the audacity to become more surpassingly gorgeous in his eyes every time he turned around. Growing into womanhood agreed with her, though Marilla had still continued to insist as they went to Queen’s that she wasn’t quite old enough for long skirts and upswept hair, and she also wouldn’t let Anne wear her engagement ring. (Anne found this restriction quite ridiculous and took to crafting rings out of everything that she could find in protest, often resorting to tying the thin ribbon she had worn on the day they met around her finger). On the day of graduation, she was permitted to wear a new, full-length dress and corset for the first time.

Gilbert finally learned the definition of torture that day, and thought he might have to live in this permanent state for years. Anne floated down the stairs of the boarding house, hair pinned into an elaborate style that only accentuated its fiery glow. More importantly for Gilbert’s current predicament, her new dress served to accentuate the curves he had first noticed after he returned from Trinidad and had been trying desperately to ignore ever since.

Where before he had been able to keep his imagination from running completely wild, the sight of Anne as the woman she had become pushed his desire from simmering to fully burning. He had tried before to avoid thinking too hard about her body, but it seemed as she descended that he could think in that moment of nothing else. He started reciting in his head the names of every part of the skeleton he could remember, a technique he had tried before when he was, er, overenthusiastic in her presence. Of course, the problem was worse at the moment in that he was also in Marilla’s presence. Soon his traitorous brain was occupied trying to calculate exactly how long it might take to unlace a corset, which was hardly helpful.

He thought he told her she looked beautiful when she stood before him, although truth be told he wasn’t entirely sure. Whatever he said or did made her blush prettily, though, and Marilla didn’t strike him down on the spot, so he supposed he managed just fine.

So it continued, day after maddening day. Most of the time, things went on as they always had, and he loved her intelligence, her sweetness, her brashness, even her temper just as he always had. It was just that he also, with alarming frequency, would watch her sweep into a room, take a deep breath, smile in his direction, or even take a sip of tea and find himself wishing for all the world that he was allowed to be alone with her and show her exactly how much he appreciated _everything_ about her. He tried to keep his less than chaste thoughts to himself, not wanting to pressure Anne into feeling that he expected more than she wanted to give.

He wasn’t exactly as good at hiding his thoughts as he first believed, it turned out. The first time they found themselves alone at the Blythe house after her transformation, she shyly approached him in the parlor and coaxed him into a long, lush kiss. Never taking her lips from his, she gently, slowly grazed his hand up her ribcage. He froze as she continued along her path. She smiled at his shock.

“Did you think I haven’t noticed you staring? I can’t stop thinking about it.” It was the first time she had ever acknowledged the kind of intimacy that extended beyond kisses and the kind of chaste embraces that definitely did not include this.

“Anne,” he croaked, hardly able to breathe, “we don’t have to –“

“No, we don’t, if you don’t want to. But if you do,” she continued, pressing her lips to his again softly, “it’s only natural. How long have we been in love with each other now?”

He took a deep breath. “As long as we go slowly.” He was still terrified of pushing too far. He never wanted Anne to fear or resent his advances. Anne kindly didn’t mention that putting his hands on her covered breast after more than a year of engagement seemed glacial rather than slow, not wanting to ruin the moment. They continued kissing, enjoying the wonder that came with discovering a new level of intimacy to share with the love of your life.

They continued in this way over the next few months, easing into more comfort with expressing how much they desired each other. Fear of discovery still lead them to stick to activities that could quickly be made to look innocent, though Gilbert did delight in learning exactly how much Anne enjoyed being kissed at a delectable spot on her collarbone, usually only accessible after he had undone a few buttons at the top of her dress.

They began to fail at plausible deniability a bit as another summer approached, until one day they were disheveled enough when Bash arrived home unexpectedly that they dashed into the next room to avoid Bash making some very uncomfortable discoveries.

“Hey Blythe, can you help me carry this in?”

“Uh, sure,” Gilbert replied, hoping his voice sounded natural (it didn’t). Gilbert managed to tuck in his shirt at lightning speed and made an attempt at fixing his hair.

When he emerged from the sitting room, Bash looked at him with confusion. “Is Anne here?” he asked, looking at her shawl draped over the chair.

“Uh, yes, she’s in the next room, getting…something.”

Bash took in his slightly rumpled appearance and suppressed a grin. “Am I interrupting something?” He was kind enough to ask this question quietly enough that Anne couldn’t hear, but his face suggested that Gilbert would be hearing about this particular surprise for a long time to come.

“Yes,” Gilbert replied through gritted teeth. Bash made no effort to hide his amusement. He looked toward the door to the sitting room.

“Sure is taking her a long time to…recover.”

“How about you don’t think about whatever my fiancée is doing right now.”

Bash rolled his eyes. Young men in love were so exhausting. “You know my rule. No making playmates for Delly and beyond that just make sure I don’t know about it so I don’t have to lie to Marilla.”

Gilbert was thankfully vehemently shaking his head at the mention of playmates, and Bash dropped his teasing as Anne joined them. There would be plenty of time to tease Blythe about his afternoon tryst when Anne wasn’t around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to make the chapter titles match to the titles of Lord Byron poems, because why not.


	2. My Soul is Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The exposition fairy comes to explain just how Gilbert ends up at the Sorbonne.

After two years of working and hoping, Anne and Gilbert’s dreams inched ever closer but remained stubbornly far off in the distance. One warm spring evening, as they sat around the kitchen table with Delly playing checkers, Bash arrived with a letter. Gilbert had not seen the name on the envelope in two years. His eyes flashed at Anne and he hoped for a second that she hadn’t seen it, but of course Anne never missed anything and her slight shift of discomfort confirmed that she knew exactly who had written him.

“You should open it,” she said gently. “I hope she is well.”

Anne knew that Winnie had not despaired of learning that Gilbert did not desire to marry her, and in fact was rather relieved. Though the situation was too complicated for them to remain as friends, they had parted amicably and Winnie had gone on to Paris herself. Still, Anne did not like the feeling that she might have caused the kind woman any pain and was not entirely ready to find out what she might have to say.

Anne turned to the stove to attend a pot of soup, and Gilbert watched her tense shoulders closely. Her ring flashed slightly in the fading evening light (Marilla had finally relented on that issue), and Gilbert felt a slight relief wash over him at seeing the reassuring reminder that Anne knew every day how he had chosen in the end. He might regret some of his behavior in the middle, but he had made it right before it was too late and thank God for that. He pulled out the letter, which was actually quite brief.

Gilbert,

I hope you are well. I am preparing to depart for London, for I am engaged and my fiancé has a law practice and a home there. As I sit thinking of the joy I feel anticipating my wedding, I will admit I reflected again that I am grateful you did not put me in a position to have to refuse you or marry where I knew my intended loved another. I know it cost you dearly.

And so I have tried to make it right, as much as I can. Father knows very well that you were first in the Queen’s entrance examination (I suppose only tied with Anne, though, so perhaps I should be writing this offer to her?) and winner of the Queen’s gold medal. Your qualifications for the Sorbonne have nothing to do with me. Therefore, after soothing my father’s irritation by finding a proper husband myself, I have convinced him to help you obtain a spot at the Sorbonne on scholarship without further conditions. There is a physician who is willing to board you and pay living expenses if you will act as his assistant part-time.

If you are inclined to accept this position for the fall, please wire to inform me as soon as possible and send a letter with particulars shortly. By the time you are in Paris I will have already quit for London, but I will point you in the direction of some good chums and tea houses to ensure that you are settled properly.

Yours, etc.,

W. Rose

The blood drained from his face to an extent that Bash actually inquired after his well-being. Anne turned in alarm.

“Is Winifred alright?!” she asked. She peered over his shoulder at the letter, since Gilbert appeared to be in too much shock to answer her. She gasped, prompting Bash to wonder if he should really start to panic.

“Anne, Gilbert…” he started, but Anne recovered first.

“Gilbert – he’s, he’s going to the Sorbonne.” She said the words breathlessly, as though it took every ounce of strength to get them out. Gilbert somehow managed to look even more shocked as she spoke, but before he could respond Anne had already turned and fled outside. Gilbert slid the letter over to Bash by way of explanation and raced after her. He caught up with her as she collapsed onto a bench next to the barn and gave in to her heartbreak.

“No, go back inside,” she tried to order him when he stepped closer. “Just give me a minute, and then we can celebrate.” She even attempted a smile, but absolutely nothing would hide the devastation in her eyes.

“It’s like you don’t know me at all,” he said gently, wrapping his arms around her tightly and cradling her head to his shoulder. He waited until the tears subsided. “I already made this choice once. I chose you and I have never regretted it for a moment. We’re not going down this road again.”

Her head snapped up. “But it’s not the same road,” she insisted, her usual decisiveness returning. “I already said you’re going – you have to.”

“But-“

“No.” She put both hands on either side of his face. “You already gave up this dream once. You have a chance at both of your dreams and you’re going to take it. We’re going to take it together.”

Now it was his turn to feel the prickle of tears in his eyes. “How could I do that? I’d be apart from you for years!”

“How long will we have to wait if you don’t take this opportunity, hm? And does a better school exist anywhere in Canada? As it stands, we still need to save the money before you can even attend medical school, and then we would still be separated for a time!”

“Not by an ocean!” At this point he was pulling her toward him somewhat frantically, as though the very thought that he wouldn’t be able to touch her was starting to sink in and he desperately wanted to hold into her as much as possible. It was her turn to cradle him close and let him settle, as she traced her fingers soothingly along the back of his neck. His disquiet took much longer to subside.

She finally finished her point, turning her face to whisper low in his ear. “We have a lifetime together, and I won’t let you forget about me even when we’re apart. I love you too much to let you give this up again. I would never forgive myself.”

He nodded against her and began to shake with sobs. They held each other for so long that the sun sank beneath the horizon before they returned. Bash watched them both solemnly, and even Delly gave a whimper of distress when she saw their tense and drawn faces.

Ever-resolute Anne spoke first. “We’re all going to have to speak French this summer, because Gilbert’s grammar is terrible and he needs to practice.” Gilbert struggled to keep from falling apart again at her attempted humor, and finally resorted to giving her another hug. Bash couldn’t think of anything to say that would help either of them overmuch, so he merely placed a comforting hand on Gilbert’s shoulder. Anne gently took Delly into her arms and the four of them stood silently together, doing everything they could to be happy with this news.

Meanwhile, Anne was watching Gilbert closely, already formulating a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hanson, Marilee. "My Soul Is Dark – Byron Poem" <https://englishhistory.net/byron/poems/my-soul-is-dark/>, February 8, 2015


	3. She Walks in Beauty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anne plans to make sure Gilbert won't forget her.
> 
> In other words, back to our emotional Victorian smut.

They spent every moment they could together that summer, savoring every long walk, family dinner, and afternoon spent watching Delly and reading to each other. Anne really did insist that he practice French with her, but the problem was that he found her so sexy when she spoke that he kept trying to steal kisses every time she tried. He noticed with glee that the kisses didn’t seem to put a damper on her efforts.

When Gilbert wasn’t around, she worked on her plan to make sure that he never forgot her love for him, no matter the distance between them. She kept her plan a secret, though, and it was Gilbert who teased that she would be swept away by someone else. “I will say something stupid in a letter, and you’ll realize that there are dozens of other men at Redmond who would be more than happy to take my place!” Anne was of course far too stubborn to be swayed, but he had seen with his own eyes that she was more popular than she knew with the male student body at Redmond and it still wasn’t easy to know that more than one fellow would try to take advantage of his absence.

“HA!” was her response. “I’m sending you off to a city full of cabarets and courtesans and you’re the one complaining?!”

“How - how do you know what either of those things are?”

Anne fixed Gilbert with a stare that sent a jolt of heat straight through him. “I know a lot of things. I am,” she continued, stepping closer, “Very. Curious.” She noted with satisfaction that he seemed to have forgotten about her male classmates as he returned her intense gaze. He also seemed suddenly to have a keen interest in a picture on the wall as soon as Marilla walked into the room, though it had been there for years and he had shown no signs of noticing it before.

With just a few days to go before Gilbert had to leave, she decided it was time to gather her courage and take her opportunity to start the plan, with the part that had already been a regular fixture in her fantasies for months. She found Gilbert at home one afternoon when she knew that Marilla was away visiting family in White Sands and Bash was in Carmody on an errand. It was the only chance she had. He was surprised to see her, for he thought she was joining Marilla and he had plans to see some old school chums a few hours later.

She kissed him as soon as she found him in the kitchen, afraid that if she gave it any more thought she would lose her nerve. He knew immediately that something was different. In place of the usual joy and humor she displayed even when they kissed, he saw only longing and aching tenderness. Her first kisses were soft, but she had already stepped forward to close the space between their bodies before he even had a chance to put a hand to her waist. She slid her fingers around his neck, never breaking the kiss, and let them trail over his neck and back in a way that had him breathing hard before she even reached the bottom of his ribs.

“Anne,” he said, clearly excited but a little alarmed, “what’s going on?”

“We are doing the right thing,” she began by way of explanation. He nodded, unsure of where this was going. “If we weren’t trying to do the right thing – if we weren’t waiting until you are finished with medical school, what would we be doing right now?”

“Well, we would probably be married,” Gilbert replied, since it seemed like the obvious answer.

“Right, like some of our friends already are or will be soon. And they’re allowed to be alone right now, like this, without anyone judging them for it.” Gilbert didn’t disagree with that. She gave him another long, deep kiss, and gently nipped at his bottom lip. That seemed rather unfair, he mused, since she knew now he would have no ability to keep his earlier train of thought. “So my point is, what would be happening right now if we were married, and we could be alone?”

Gilbert felt his body jolt with awareness as he realized where this conversation was going. He was struck with a momentary boldness that he usually tried to avoid in favor of not wanting to push Anne too far. “I’d hide away with you in a cabin for a month and I’d hardly want to leave the bed the entire time.”

That was far more honesty than Anne was expecting, and her breath quickened. She was backed against the table, and he was leaning over her, gripping the edge with all his strength.

“We can’t,” he said hoarsely, though it was painfully obvious he wished they could. “We can’t risk you getting pregnant. I could never leave if I was worried that –“

She cut him off with a light finger to his lips. “I know that. I’m not suggesting we risk a pregnancy. I’m saying,” she continued, sliding her fingers along his jaw and slowly tracing a path on the outside of his ear, “that you know as well as I do that there are lots of things that happen between men and women that do not, by themselves, cause pregnancy.” She gave him the most achingly desirable look he had ever seen in his life. “And I’d like to try those things. With you.”

She was trying to kill him. She was honestly trying to kill him. As punishment for going to the Sorbonne, she had decided to give him a heart attack first.

“Where did you learn these things?”

She bit her lip a tiny bit, and he was nearly certain that he was going to ignore every last thought in his head about self-control and kiss her senseless. “I told you, I am very curious, and I know who to ask.”

That…wasn’t really an answer, but the tone of her voice and the look in her eyes was such that he wasn’t really paying attention to her words by the time she finished. He captured her lips fiercely and let his hands roam her body, enjoying every last moan and sigh he received as a reward.

She had saved her last line until she was sure that desire would overcome his usual fear of pushing her, since she had no fear at all about being this close to him. She’d read it in a novel once that she wasn’t supposed to read. “Take me to bed,” she whispered in a low tone she barely recognized as hers. His body trembled slightly and for a moment he merely cradled her into his chest, overwhelmed with the knowledge that she trusted him this much.

Gilbert had used up every ounce of restraint he had, and he was now sure she didn’t want him to bother with restraint, anyway. They made it to his bedroom somehow, but by the time she had firmly shut the door his nerves were already returning, since he had no idea what he was supposed to do next. Fortunately, Anne wasn’t about to wait for him to take the lead.

Anne had unbuttoned his shirt before, so she had an easy time of it. She slid the rough fabric over his shoulders and tossed it aside before he had managed to form a single coherent thought. Her hands roved over his chest, his stomach, and soon down to his waistband.

“Wait-“ he stopped her hand gently. “We can take our time. And you,” he continued, finally losing some of his shyness now that they had clearly crossed a threshold and had no intention of going back, “are wearing entirely too many clothes.” As he undid each button along her back, he softly kissed the nape of her neck.

Soon her corset followed the dress on the floor, and she was left only in her thin, sleeveless chemise. He saw a flash of something in her eyes as she turned to face him, and he felt a knot in the pit of his stomach. “Anne, let’s - let me help you put your dress back on.”

She stepped fully into his arms and buried her face against him, as she always did when she needed reassurance and didn’t know how to form the words to ask. He settled his back against the headboard of the bed and held her close. After a few moments, she raised her head and looked at him, all traces of shyness and fear gone.

“I don’t want to stop. I just,” she took a deep breath, “I’ve never done this before, and for a second I worried that I would do something wrong or you would be disappointed once you saw me or –“ He covered her mouth with his just then, cutting off her self-doubt.

“You could never, never disappoint me. My passionate Anne? It’s impossible. And do you,” he kissed her again, “have any idea what it’s doing to me just to see you like this? I might not be able to let you take off any more or I’ll lose any ability to do the rest of this right because I’ll be too distracted.”

By now she had tears in her eyes, and her cheeks were stained a gorgeous shade of pink. “Do you have any idea why I wanted to do this? Because,” she said, taking his hand and slowly tracing his fingers along the neck of her chemise, “we share something that we don’t have with anyone else. And I wanted to share one more thing with you, so you remember that we have a lifetime of sharing left when you come home.”

The mention of his imminent departure threatened to push him to tears as well, but Anne chose that exact moment to rise from the bed. She stood in front of him, never taking her gaze from his. She slid her chemise over one shoulder, then the other, until the garment slipped to the floor, the ribbons gliding along her body as it fell. He was momentarily transfixed, until, decision made, he swept her into his arms. He finally kissed her senseless as he had intended all this time, tenderly plucking the hairpins from her ruby and bronze locks as he lowered her to the bed.

He caressed seemingly every inch of her skin, first with his fingers, then with his mouth, as though memorizing every possible part of her and also carefully filing away her every reaction – every sigh, moan, arched back, and cry. He also discovered, much to his delight, that she wasn’t remotely shy about telling him exactly what she thought of how he was doing, and she was very complimentary. As he lay alone in the long years ahead, wishing for all the world that she was by his side, he remembered that sultry sound in her voice, like the steamy heat in Trinidad, that was reserved only for him. He had never particularly liked his name before, but after he heard her say it in a moment of passion that afternoon, he never wished to be anyone else again in the whole of his life.

They were not particularly sure of what they were doing or especially smooth in their techniques, but none of that mattered. All that mattered was that they were exploring a new world together, secure in the knowledge that their love for each other would keep them safe on the journey. They finally cuddled together on the bed, spent but elated, his quilt draped untidily over their legs. They didn’t say anything for a long time, but they didn’t need to. Gilbert traced his thumb over her ring as he memorized every detail, down to a lone freckle on her shoulder and the exact color of her hair as it spread over the pillow. Anne was busy wondering just why she hadn’t tried to seduce him before. No matter what they had to face in the future, they had faced hurdles and fears and joy and passion, and they would do it again. 


	4. The First Kiss of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anne isn't about to let an ocean stop her from seducing Gilbert.

All too soon the awful day arrived, and they traveled with Gilbert to Halifax to board the transatlantic liner bound for Southampton. Anne and Gilbert were both too devastated to say much, but merely stayed as close to each other as propriety would allow and reminded themselves with each passing moment that they had made the right choice. Among Gilbert’s things was a new briefcase that Anne had carefully tucked into his trunk just before he left home. He noticed that it gave a curious thump as she nestled the leather bag under his clothes, but she said nothing further and made him promise to wait until he arrived in Paris to open it.

With only a few hours left until boarding, Marilla relented when they asked to walk alone in a nearby park. They tried to talk as much as they could but nearly always dissolved into tears before they could get very far. They managed to find a quiet, tucked away spot that would allow for one last, real embrace. Even in a moment that would not allow for more intense intimacy, Gilbert felt that he needed no other touch to prove just how right they were together than to stand wrapped in each other’s arms, her head cradled against him, when they sought each other for comfort.

There was truly nothing that would take away the gnawing pain as the ship glided away from shore. It was one thing to know that this separation would be over someday, and another to know that he had to face more than 1,000 days without her before his heart would feel truly whole again. Fearing that he would lose his nerve to endure the separation and knowing that Anne would always blame herself if he gave up, Gilbert threw himself into the first textbook he found until he had practically memorized it. The experience of voyaging the open sea gave him none of the thrill he felt when he had embarked on his last long journey, and he mostly kept to himself, too deep in his grief at the moment to pretend otherwise for strangers.

After endless days of sea and train voyage, he finally arrived at the home of Doctor Delmas, his new landlord and mentor, his wife Celine, and his two young sons. As much as possible, he had tried to memorize the terrain of the voyage and his first view of the city, so that he could convey it all to Anne as vividly as possible. She had been very clear with him that she expected detailed letters so that she would live the experience along with him. After a few more exhausting hours of getting to know his hosts, not wanting to appear rude, he was finally able to retire to his room and face the reality of his new life. As he began to unpack his trunk, he pulled out the briefcase that he hadn’t dared touch on the journey and opened it to discover the source of the thumps.

A flash of color caught his eye first. There was, he realized as he peered inside more closely, a ribbon sewn inside the bag, forming a bow. He closed his eyes as memory flooded him. It was the ribbon she wore on the day they met, the one she had woven in her hair on the day he scattered the hairpins all over the floor as he eased her onto his bed. Could there be two different days in all world?

He felt into his pocket for the handkerchief that she had pressed into his hand just before he boarded the ship. It was snowy white and plain, except for her initials stitched into one corner and a band of pale blue ribbon that was unusual for a masculine accessory. “I made it out of something important,” she said quietly but pointedly, and his eyes widened as his mind flashed back to those ribbons, gliding over her skin as she discarded her last stitch of clothing. Somehow, she had reworked her alluring chemise into a seemingly ordinary handkerchief. He was very grateful she had decided to wait on this gift until Marilla and Bash had discreetly turned their backs to allow the lovers one last goodbye. Perhaps not surprisingly, he sent Anne countless ribbons during his stay in Paris, wishing he were there to untie them himself.

The next surprise in the briefcase was more puzzling. It was a slim anatomy text, featuring illustrations and descriptions so detailed that Gilbert felt certain it was unlikely to have appeared in any genteel PEI bookstore. He wondered just how Anne had managed to procure such a text, but suspected he would rather not know the truth, picturing train-jumping and smuggling as elements of the story. The next was more mundane but sweet, a volume of the love poems and selected works of Lord Byron. Finally, there was a letter addressed to him.

_My darling,_

_I miss you even as I write these words, but I hope you know by now that I will not forget you until my dying day and I won’t dare allow you to forget me._ He smiled at the sentiment. Of course she wouldn’t give him permission to forget her.

_Have you been keeping your handkerchief with you? I have another garment just like it and it is near me every day. _He let out a long-suffering groan at the thought of the fabric so close to her skin, her body warming it through, the ribbons skimming along lightly as she undressed.

She described in several detailed paragraphs her plans for the days following his departure, so that he would know she was doing her very best to keep going and thrive in his absence. Then near the bottom, following a loving, sweet, and proper close, came a curious instruction.

_Tear off and burn the rest of this letter._ Gilbert wondered if he was about to be pulled into some international espionage. You never did know with Anne.

_Your new books are a code for communicating discreetly, as propriety simply does not leave enough room to put my thoughts of you to paper so boldly as I would like and I cannot go so long without sharing my every thought with my lover_. The last word made him shiver. _Recall the pattern: 1:22:18:4. Book, page, line, word. See if you can figure out how to make it work. _

He pulled out Byron first, but there was no 18th line on that page. He tried the medical text and found himself instead staring at a very descriptive term for female anatomy that Anne had never dared utter aloud. He blinked and barely moved for several minutes, marveling that Anne was now managing to give him heart attacks from clear across the Atlantic. She was truly a wonder.

_I will assume I have made my point. I will test our code with my next letter._

Gilbert waited to burn Anne’s code description until the first letter arrived a few days later. Reading even the few words in her first letter about her plan was enough to set his heart pounding, and he wasn’t ready to give it up until he learned exactly what she would do with this new code. Soon the letters began arriving, each containing a few lines that he quickly realized told an elaborate story of an encounter she wished to have with him, down to the exact parts of her body she wished him to touch and how. About three months into his stay, her coded prose moved on to illustrating exactly what she would do to him in turn.

Gilbert reflected that somehow he was going to have to become a much more descriptive writer, on top of his medical studies. It was entirely unfair for him to receive letters that served to set his entire body on fire with a single sentence, while he tried to eke out something more impressive than, “I miss seeing your beautiful face.” (It turned out of course that Anne loved her inarticulate fiancé and treasured every one of his clunky attempts at romance, but he didn’t know that.)

In one letter she admitted that she had taken the shirt he had worn that warm summer day, along with his quilt. (Bash in fact noticed that Gilbert’s bed had mysteriously gained a different quilt seemingly overnight, but decided he had no interest in discovering how or why.) She described in such jaw-dropping detail the feel of his items resting against her otherwise uncovered body while she slept that he struggled to dress in the morning for weeks without being uncomfortably affected, knowing full well that she was likely asleep wearing his shirt at that exact moment.

Gilbert remained the more reserved of the two and struggled to put his desires into words for fearing of scaring off Anne by appearing too debauched. They were careful as well to put into words the more mundane and tender feelings they also shared, those that could be written without resorting to code. They recorded elaborate descriptions of people and places they encountered, shared joys, sorrows, frustrations, and milestones, read books together and discussed them, and never failed to plan for the future to come. Anne also wrote countless articles and stories, with Gilbert receiving the first copy of most. She even began to use some of her own stories to build on their code, adding another layer of seduction even into tales that were perfectly ordinary and proper. It was unimaginably alluring, reading words meant for public consumption and knowing the hidden, intimate significance meant only for him. Still, utter desperation to experience every last fantasy Anne spun finally pushed him to lose the last of his reticence, to the point that Anne received a letter consisting almost entirely of code, relating in painstaking detail an imagined encounter involving the use of ribbons to bind him in a way that had never occurred to her before.


	5. To Anne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gilbert comes home to visit, and Anne has a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry all, I cannot post the contents of Gilbert's letter without violating my own content rating. ;) Suffice it to say, his cosmopolitan European classmates have put a lot of creative ideas in his head and he intends to try every one of them.

His mentor agreed that two seemingly endless years was quite long enough to go without seeing his fiancée, and consented to allow him to return home for the only extended break he would have during his time in medical school. Anne had saved along with him to help pay for the passage home, and anxiously awaited his arrival. Once again, unbeknownst to Gilbert, she also hatched a plot.

By the time he stepped of the ship, both of them were so emotional that they nearly scandalized all of Halifax right there at the port. Thankfully, Bash and Anne’s school friend Phillipa Blake (Phil to her friends) were there to break up some of the tension. Marilla had remained behind in Avonlea, as she was recovering from an illness and preferred not to make such a long journey. Phil kindly agreed to join the journey as a chaperone, having married just a few weeks earlier. She had relatives in Halifax and was pleased to have an excuse to stay with them. She was also, fortunately for Anne, a kindred spirit who had no problem assisting Anne with her scandalous intentions and would never tell a soul. Anne, in turn, had looked the other way at more than a few improprieties when the two of them lived in the same house and Phil’s fiancé had come for visits.

Unfortunately, she also had to enlist Bash to agree to this plan, a pre-trip conversation that was considerably more awkward than the one with Phil. “I am merely asking that you go to your room at the hotel once we arrive and…don’t ask any questions about what happens to anyone else until morning.”

Bash fixed her with a knowing stare. “We requested two rooms: one for you and your friend, one for me and Blythe. Are you forcing him to sleep on the streets?”

She returned his gaze without a hint of embarrassment. “For all you know, Phil returned to my room to chaperone and we played chess all night.” Bash couldn’t help but wonder just how often this girl shocked Blythe into incomprehension. He suspected the boy was in for a lifetime of surprises.

He finally shook his head in amused defeat. “I’ve told you my rule just like Blythe – no playmates for Delly.”

Anne scoffed. “We would never and besides why would anyone bother with that risk when there are so many other – “

Bash held up his hands in horrified surrender. “Anne, I love you like a sister, and I am begging you not to finish that sentence. You can stay in that hotel a week if you promise that I will never know what you were about to say.”

After a happy supper at a nearby restaurant, the four companions returned to their hotel to freshen up for an evening on the town. Gilbert would have preferred a quieter first night with Anne, but he wasn’t about to mar the day by raising his objections. They all walked toward Anne’s room first, intending to collect some item Anne claimed she needed from her bags. The four of them filed into the room, a cozy suite with a large, soft feather bed and a comfortably crackling fire. Gilbert took in the surprisingly luxurious surroundings, then suddenly realized that Bash and Phil had disappeared without a word. Anne swiftly returned to the door, and his body shifted to full awareness as he heard the click of the lock.

Her face was already flushed before she even turned around. “Don’t worry – they won’t be looking for us until morning.”

“How –“

“Do you really want to know?”

Even before she had finished the question, his mind had already dismissed every other concern and was focused entirely on Anne, hair glowing in the faint light of the setting sun, chest rising and falling with unsteady breaths, eyes fixed with aching adoration on his face. He didn’t bother answering, and instead crossed the space between them in two wide steps, capturing her lips. He kissed her lightly at first, wanting to keep the urgency he felt from overwhelming them both. She sighed against him and pulled his body closer.

“I couldn’t stand missing you anymore,” she whispered. “I wanted you to myself, just for one night.”

“Anne,” he breathed, “did you think I would object, for even a second? When I’ve been dying to hold you like this every day for two years?” He rested his forehead against hers, looking straight into the gray depths of her eyes. “How did I ever survive?”

Those grey eyes misted over. “If you’re like me, you read my letters hundreds of times over and treasured every word.” He smiled and nodded in agreement, their noses brushing. He stroked her cheek with his thumb, until she couldn’t stand the tension anymore and crushed her mouth to his.

He made short work of the pins in her hair, until it tumbled down her back and he could bury his fingers in her silky strands as he had ached to do every day. “I need you out of this dress,” he breathed urgently. Though they had only had one physical encounter like this before, the years of letters and building tension had served to make this night significantly less tentative than that long-ago afternoon. She had planned a number of moves to seduce him but soon found herself giving fully into his lead, very much enjoying his lack of restraint.

He kissed her deeply as her dress pooled at her feet, tongue gently tracing her bottom lip. She sighed his name against his mouth and she felt his fingers clench in her hair. “I’m going to make you say my name like that so many times the sound will never leave my ears.” She was left staring at the bed behind him in total shock as he moved to kiss her neck. Her future husband was really learning not to hold back, and now he was setting her completely aflame with want.

She clutched her hands to his shoulders, and he began to shrug out of his jacket. She slid her hands down to his chest and began to unbutton his shirt, stopping to brush her fingers over his hips as she untucked it. She was rewarded for her boldness with a low growl, and soon found her feet leave the floor as he swept her up to carry her to the bed. He paused and captured her gaze, searching for any fear or hesitation. She responded with a simple “I love you,” and placed a kiss on a particularly sensitive spot behind his ear.

He shivered slightly with emotion. “I love you too,” he said, too overcome to think of prettier words. He laid her gently on the bed and pulled her to him again, determined instead to show her the intensity of his feelings. They were both too desperate to slow down during their first encounter, and soon they lay in each other’s arms, content to spend the time talking and resting. At one point Gilbert dozed for a while, and Anne watched him tenderly. Finally, when they were ready to take their time, Gilbert lowered himself on top of her and whispered, “now what was it you said you wanted me to do? Oh right, step 1…” he began, trailing kisses down her sternum. He recited every word of her first secret coded message, following her instructions down to the last, delectable detail. She was more than happy to do the same for him, since she hadn’t forgotten a word of it, either. When at last they were completely spent, she gave a breathless laugh.

“We’ll have to pick another message to try next time. Maybe…the ribbons?”

Gilbert gave a groan. “Don’t say that to me right now. I may need a lifetime just to recover from tonight. Sometimes I think you’re trying to kill me, my beautiful Anne.” Instead of doing anything else to shorten his lifespan, Anne settled her head against his shoulder and snuggled against him. They both slept deeply, and by the time Gilbert woke the sun was already streaming through the lace curtains. Anne, still asleep, gave a contented sigh and merely cuddled closer as he shifted to look at her.

The sight of Anne, still asleep in his arms after a night spent in bed together, affected him more than anything else that had happened between them. This was what he missed most in his absence, more than kisses and bare skin and passion. He missed being in the presence of the person he loved and trusted more than anyone in the world, the person who loved and trusted him just that much in return. It gave him a curious ache to know that there would probably not be any more mornings like this until their marriage, and in his head he was already composing a secret letter to her from Paris about his dreams for quiet mornings together in their shared home. Once again he began memorizing every detail to sustain him until that long-awaited day - the flutter of her eyelids as she slept, the way she burrowed her head into his neck, the way she threw her bare leg over his hips as her deep breathing flowed over his skin.

He dreamed of the day when it would be their home, their room, their bed, because they would share their entire lives. He could live with the taste of that dream for now, knowing every sacrifice was for the life he’d be offering to both of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To Anne (II)
> 
> Oh say not, sweet Anne, that the Fates have decreed  
The heart which adores you should wish to dissever;  
Such Fates were to me most unkind ones indeed,—  
To bear me from Love and from Beauty for ever.
> 
> Your frowns, lovely girl, are the Fates which alone  
Could bid me from fond admiration refrain;  
By these, every hope, every wish were o’erthrown,  
Till smiles should restore me to rapture again.
> 
> As the ivy and oak, in the forest entwin’d,  
The rage of the tempest united must weather;  
My love and my life were by nature design’d  
To flourish alike, or to perish together.
> 
> Then say not, sweet Anne, that the Fates have decreed  
Your lover should bid you a lasting adieu:  
Till Fate can ordain that his ***** shall bleed,  
His Soul, his Existence, are centred in you.
> 
> ~Lord Byron


End file.
